Subway Suspect's Past

Long before Erika Menendez was accused of pushing a Queens man to his death on the subway tracks, her mother had called police at least five times over the past seven years to report erratic, sometimes violent behavior related to her daughter's mental health, a law-enforcement official said.

Over the past 12 years, New York City police have records of 14 encounters with Ms. Menendez, 31 years old, including nine arrests separate from the calls for help from her mother, the official said.

Two of the arrests—both in 2003—resulted in assault charges on accusations of attacking men, the official said, adding that she pleaded guilty but received no jail time.

Ms. Menendez's mother, Maricela Mera, told police on four separate occasions between 2005 and 2012 that her daughter was acting violently and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, an illness marked by extreme shifts in mood. One police record said Ms. Menendez was diagnosed with schizophrenia, the official said.

In a January 2010 incident, Ms. Menendez allegedly threw a radio at a police officer, the official said. In another in February, Ms. Menendez's mother called police and reported her daughter hadn't been taking her medication, had destroyed items in the house and had then gone missing. Ms. Menendez wasn't arrested either time.

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The new details about Ms. Menendez's mental-health and criminal history emerged Sunday after she was arraigned on a murder charge in connection with the death of Sunando Sen, a 46-year-old Indian immigrant. Prosecutors said Ms. Menendez shoved Mr. Sen in front of an oncoming No. 7 train at the 40th Street-Lowery Street station in Sunnyside, Queens. Just before the incident, witnesses saw her speaking incoherently to herself, authorities said.

Ms. Menendez allegedly told investigators that she targeted Mr. Sen, who was Hindu, because of his religion, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. Paraphrasing Ms. Menendez's statement to investigators, Mr. Brown said she admitted pushing "a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the Twin Towers I've been beating them up."

Queens Criminal Court Judge Gia Morris on Sunday ordered that Ms. Menendez undergo a psychiatric examination. The suspect didn't enter a plea and was being held without bail.

ENLARGE

Musicians play during a wake on Sunday in Corona, Queens, for subway-pushing victim Sunando Sen, an Indian immigrant.
Peter J. Smith for The Wall Street Journal

Reached by email, Ms. Menendez's court-appointed attorney Dietrich Epperson declined to comment. Mr. Epperson said he was given the case because he happened to be working a shift and said a new "homicide defense attorney" would likely be appointed for Ms. Menendez at her next court date, on Jan. 14.

Relatives of Ms. Menendez declined to comment Sunday, saying they were too distraught to speak publicly. Friends of Ms. Menendez said she had never expressed anti-Muslim or Hindu sentiments.

"That whole story about her not liking Muslims is insane," said a friend, Denise Henriquez, of Bellerose, who recalled Ms. Menendez saying recently that she was doing well and studying the Koran.

According to the law-enforcement official, Ms. Menendez had received treatment at Elmhurst Hospital Center, which has an inpatient psychiatric unit. It wasn't clear whether Ms. Menendez's family petitioned a court to force her into a treatment program, an option available under a New York statute known as Kendra's Law. It was named for Kendra Webdale, a 32-year-old journalist pushed to her death in front of an N train in 1999 by a schizophrenic man.

At Mr. Sen's wake near his home in Corona, Queens, on Sunday afternoon, friends and family walked past an open casket adorned with flowers. A poster with his picture and a newspaper story recounting his death was propped up nearby. Mourners recalled an introverted and intelligent man who moved to New York in the late 1980s to attend New York University.

The New York Police Department released footage of the woman suspected of pushing a man to his death on subway tracks at the Queens Boulevard and 40th Street-Lowery Street station on the No. 7 line on Thursday night. The surveillance video came from the area near the station, showing the suspect fleeing after the incident.

Mr. Sen recently opened his own print shop on the Upper West Side after 16 years working at NY Copy & Printing in the East Village. His former boss, Bidyut Sarker, 55, described Mr. Sen as an honest, hard worker who taught himself computer graphics and design, spending "hours and hours" learning.

It remained unclear what brought Ms. Menendez and Mr. Sen together on the Flushing-bound No. 7 train platform. Authorities said Mr. Sen was trying to stay warm in an enclosed area of the elevated station and didn't notice his attacker before he fell on the tracks.

Ms. Menendez's run-ins with police dated back to 2000, when she was arrested on a charge of using a stolen credit-card number to make a purchase, the law-enforcement official said. She received a sentence of conditional discharge, meaning she pleaded guilty and would receive no jail time if she complied with conditions set by the judge.

In all, Ms. Menendez has nine prior arrests on charges that include cocaine and marijuana possession, harassment and assault, the law-enforcement official said. In five of the cases, Ms. Menendez received a conditional discharge, the official said. Four cases had been sealed, and no details were available Sunday.

In April 2003, Ms. Menendez was charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment. She allegedly "punched, slapped and scratched" a 28-year-old man, the official said. About two months later, Ms. Menendez was arrested on the same charges after she allegedly punched a 55-year-old man in the face as he was taking out his garbage in Woodside, Queens, the official said. She received a conditional discharge in both cases.

Police records cited by the official show Ms. Menendez had a rocky relationship with her family. In February 2005, police responded to a report of Ms. Menendez becoming "violent toward her family," the official said, adding that the police report said Ms. Menendez hadn't taken medication for her bipolar disorder for five months.

In May 2007, police responded to a report of Ms. Menendez digesting "various amounts of medication pills, causing her to become disoriented and drowsy," the official said. She was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center.

In September 2008, Ms. Menendez's mother reported to police that her daughter was "threatening to harm herself and others," the official said. Ms. Menendez was again taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center.

In the most recent call, Ms. Menendez's mother reported her missing on Feb. 27, saying she hadn't been taking her medication, the official said. Ms. Menendez had argued with her mother and "broke several items inside the family's home," the official said. Ms. Menendez then fled, the official said, something she "had done numerous times in the past and always returned home a few hours later."

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